Sitting Pretty and Standing Alone
by G-Squared
Summary: Peridot is the daughter of a rich CEO, never getting to have the right of being herself. Lapis is a poor college student with nothing but a dream of being a rockstar in the big city. When fate brings the two together at a dinner party, their futures unknowingly intertwine. *Disclaimer* We do not own Steven Universe or the characters. All rights belong to Rebecca Sugar and team :)
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

My life had never been easy; but, when I was a kid, I never did anything to fix it. Since I was little, my parents had never supported me or anything I had done.

The day I took my first steps, my mother kicked me the ottoman, giving me something to lean on, instead of her support. My first day of school, my father made me stand at the bus stop in nothing but an ugly hand me down school uniform. I still remember the feeling _or the lack thereof_ of my fingers and toes freezing. When I wanted to bring a friend home from school for the first time, they said they didn't believe someone even talked to me. When we passed a music store one day and I gushed over a beautiful acoustic in the front window, my mother told me that I could never do something like learn to play an instrument.

It went on like this until I turned 18, then I was kicked out. It didn't take me long to move on, to forget, I'd been waiting for a chance to be honest. I cut my long black hair short and dyed it an electric blue, something that I had wanted to do _forever_ _,_ but was never allowed. My parents had sent me to work over the years, they gave me some cash for my time but kept most of my pay for their own personal " _needs"_. It piled up over the years, eventually giving me enough money to apply for law course in college. Thankfully, I got a grant for my hard work in High School. It helped quite a lot with tuition, but it wasn't enough.

I had made one splurge during my time with my parents, amateur dj equipment. God knows how I was allowed all that and not a simple guitar. Overtime I had improved significantly and was confident in my skills as a DJ.

Later on, right before I started college, I invested in some advanced equipment and decided to take it up as part time job to help pay off my tuition. Without a doubt it led to some interesting experiences to say the least. But, one night in particular would turn out to be different.

I expected an ordinary night like all the others; and ordinary was quite the stretch for me. I was used to crowds even then, ranging from drunk frat boys to snobby rich people, holding the stem of their wine glasses between their fingers.

This party was quite posh. But, what made it so beautifully unexpected was the short blonde girl who I accidentally drenched in green tea that ironically matched her ruffled blouse. Saying it was unprofessional wasn't scraping the surface of what I did. Though without that one fateful screw up, my life would not be what it is now. So, without further ado, I'll begin the tale of how I met Peridot.

I had to piss like no one else's business and I had to come up with a situation fast or things would get really messy, real fast. I'd been taking advantage of the free tea just outside the ballroom of the resort since earlier in the evening and it was all catching up to me. After a bit of thinking, I put on Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and made a run for it, not even taking the time to put down what was in my hand. I got back with about two minutes to spare and a full dance floor.

As the song faded out, I felt my blood run cold as I realised I had left my requests sheet in the bathroom. Not being able to do much, I threw Boney M.'s Rasputin on the other side of the deck and waited.

I could tell you from personal experience that nothing influences a dance floor much like Rasputin. To an outside observer, it would seem that in the ten seconds flat, the entire place was full of Russians. As it switched over, most of the room erupted in hollars and drunken businessmen strutted onto the dance floor.

Again, I left my station and grabbed my mug hoping that I would be able to get another cup on the way. Crossing the room and side stepping multiple intoxicated snobs as I went, I jogged into the hallway and towards the bathroom.

During my mid-hallway run, I passed the buffet table taking a moment to stop and drool, dreaming of when I'd get my hands on those deserts. Being basically staff meant that I was last to go when it came to the food, but at least it was free. I stopped and had my moment then continued running, but I didn't make it very far. Before i stepped much further, I felt my arm crash against something solid and when I turned around...

 _ **I saw Her...**_

 **A/N :** And we're back! G here, and I'm here to tell you we're back in business:) Gwen and I got a little carried away with our studies, but we couldn't stop ourselves from coming back to G2 !

It was a hard decision but we thought it was best to re-post our works from scratch. I'm really sorry if it's a hassle for old or current reader, but we wanted to continue to output posts while we work on new and old creations!

We'll be uploading SPASA (this story) as our main work on a regular schedule of - Monday/Wednesday/Friday. (Depending on our progress there might be weekend updates too!) Other past stories will be posted/updated every so-often on an irregular schedule, so feel free to request chapter uploads of those smaller stories! (there's a lot more info on our works in our bio!)

If you have any questions strike up a conversation on PM, we'd love to hear from you!

Thanks! 3

(Also even though the day this was posted was technically a Tuesday, you'll still get the Wednesday upload tomorrow and the two intro chapters today! Woo!)


	2. Chapter 2

_**It all started with a cup of tea...**_

I've been spoiled rotten for as long as I can remember but it's not everything most people would hope for. I was my mother's plastic doll. I never got to wear what I chose, I was forced to wear makeup in my teen years to banquets, I never got to be myself.

Most days and nights during my childhood, I found myself caught up in a dream, one where I didn't have as many expectations. I wished I could wear a casual outfit; something like a typical pair of jeans with a green t-shirt. I wished I could rip out my long blonde braids and cut my hair short, going for days without brushing it. I wish I could cast pink into the depths of hell. I dreamt of being a normal girl.

I would be surrounded by friends, ones who enjoyed my company rather than my family's riches. We would spend weekends in front of the tv, grinding away levels of duck hunt as we avoided doing our homework. We would spend hours afterschool setting up hopscotch, our small hands getting chalk all over our bicycle handles as we sped home. This was my fantasy.

But, reality was harsh.

Keep your back straight. Legs crossed when you're sitting. Hands in your lap. I had heard them all. Saturday nights were spent playing dress up against my will. I was the mannequin for all sorts of dresses my mother had picked out to match hers for the Sunday's dinner.

Never was I told that I was smart, creative or worthwhile. All I had in my name was a title. A title that I had come to despise because I was forced into living up to it. There was always venom on my tongue when I said it, _pretty_. I was a _pretty little trophy_.

Why compliment someone on something that was only skin deep. Why not compliment someone on an attribute that makes their soul that much more important to this world, an attribute that makes someone _them_. People seem to forget that beauty is temporary.

Beauty made people treat me like a plaything and honestly I was sick of this _bullshit_.

When I was told that I would be attending another banquet, the last thing I was was surprised. I had always been an introvert, avoiding banter like the plague.

I trudged up the stairs to my suite, slamming the door _hard_. I flopped onto my bed, not giving a care if my mother decided to yell at me about it later. Clutching my long blonde hair in two fistfulls, I racked my brain for ideas that would get me through tonight. Surely people would notice if I stayed in the bathroom all night gaming on my phone. Deep shit would be an understatement for the trouble I would be in.

Somehow, I found the will to lift myself up and make my way towards my walk in closet. Walking right past the section designated for gowns, I noticed how much the colour green dominated my wardrobe. I chose a lime ruffled blouse and a pair of taupe slacks to accompany it.

Sighing as I sat at my vanity, I swept my hair into a high ponytail, deciding to leave its natural curly texture untouched. I despised the fact that I knew how to apply makeup to fit my mother's standards. If it were up to me, it would have been burned ages ago. Pushing my glasses back up the bridge of my nose, I grabbed the dark brown pea coat I relied on and headed for the door.

The party was crowded, much to my dismay. Women in floor length gowns sipped their red wine and laughed about those less wealthy than them and their douchebags of husbands. What would they think of me if they knew I wanted to be amongst the less wealthy?

I threw my bag down on the chair beside me, sipping the remnants of what used to be my green tea as Bohemian Rhapsody faded in. It was an interesting choice to say the least, but the crowd seemed to love it as they flooded the dance floor. I chuckled as I realised the meaning behind the song choice. The young woman behind the DJ booth proceeded to bolt for the ballroom doors, turning left and heading for the ladies room.

With about three minutes left to spare of the song, I decided I wanted a refill. Pushing my chair out from under the table, I decided to leave my purse unattended as I left for the doors.

Sighing in relief as I realised that the table for coffee and various types of tea was unoccupied, I placed my mug down and filled it with boiling hot water. Watching the water slowly turn green from the tea bag gave me a temporary sense of contentment as I began to make my way towards the ballroom.

However, I had not been watching where I was going and I was struck in the shoulder, sending the freshly boiled water all over my chest and neck. There was no way that I would be able to conceal the second degree burns on my fair skin.

I yelped as I turned around, ready to give who ever had burned me a piece of my mind.

And that's when…

 ** _I saw Her._**

 ** _A/N :_** Hey it's Gwen and I'm here to let you know, we aren't dead..? Yay! Welcome back to SPSA 2.0

Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

 _ **Peridot P.O.V**_

I did not expect to meet the guilt ridden gaze of the blue haired DJ. Her brow was knit with worry as she sputtered out her next sentence like a broken machine.

"Shit, I'm sorry!"

"Clod! That hurt!" I shrieked, my tea cup becoming nothing more than a pile of drenched shards on the carpeted floor. We had begun to gather the attention of surrounding guests who were gathering food at the nearby buffet tables.

Without much thought, the clumsy DJ grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me off towards the bathrooms.

"C'mon." After checking the premises, she locked the main door and soaked a paper towel with cold water from the tap.

"Take off your shirt." She instructed with a worried tone.

"What?!"

"Well do you want it to blister?" she explained, gesturing to my top half.

"Well it was your own cloddy mistake." I mumbled accusingly, complying nonetheless.

Throwing her my blouse, I exchanged it for the soaking paper towel that had begun to drip water on the floor.

"Watch out for your shoes, I'm sure they're worth more than me." The DJ muttered.

"It's not like these are my only pair." I scoffed, placing the wet paper cloth over the area that had been hit the hardest, crossing my free hand over my bare stomach.

"Right." she remembered, she began fumbling with the buttons to her blazer, slipping it off her shoulders and throwing it onto the counter. As she began pulling up her own blouse, not dissimilar to my own, my voice seemed to have been lost but I finally managed to speak.

"W-why is this necessary?" I stammered, my cheeks turning a bright red.

"Do you want to head back out with a dry shirt or none at all?"

"But, what about yourself?" I asked nervously, twisting the article of clothing she had passed me.

"I have a coat to cover up the wet shirt and plus I'm only staff, I'm here to serve the guests."

"We're going to exchange?"

"It won't matter, I won't be as noticed." She said, sending me a weak grin.

"Could you elaborate?"

"Again," She sighed, her bangs acting as a curtain, "I'm staff. I won't be paid much attention. Trust me."

"That's simply a false statement," I retorted, "With vibrant hair such as yours one would go anything but unnoticed..."

"No. People would be looking your way, not mine." She argued, finally covering her exposed skin with my wet blouse. It was relieving, yet it felt too soon. I shook my head ridding myself of that feeling, remembering the fabric in my hand.

"Aren't you going to put it on?" she reminded me, slipping her arms through the sleeves of her black blazer, finishing by doing up the buttons.

"Oh... Yes." I scrambled to tug the blue ruffled shirt over my head. I was relieved to feel that it fit well enough. It served its purpose in snapping me out of the weird trance I found myself in.

"Are the burns noticeable?"

"It wasn't like I was staring at your boobs. I wasn't looking." she chuckled nonchalantly. I began grumbling unintelligibly, I wasn't quite sure on how to respond to that… Nor feel? Should I be taking offence to that?

"Is there anything wrong with them?" I inquired, crossing my arms over my chest in a weak attempt to guard it.

"My God… Relax a little." The DJ scoffed, "I was just being polite, I don't even know you."

"It's Peridot. My name, I mean."

"Huh… Who woulda' thought." My new acquaintance chuckled, "The name's Lapis, Lapis Lazuli..."

"Simply intriguing..." I guess stones were in that year. We seemed about the same age.

We were pulled away by the sounds of drunk yells.

"What happened to the music?"

"We wanna dance!"

"What the hell?!"

Lapis turned around, fumbling frantically with the lock to the bathroom door.

"Shit." she muttered. "I've gotta go. It was nice meeting you Peridot."

I wasn't able to tell, but there was something about the way she pronounced my name that made my heart flutter. My feet rooted to the bathroom tiles, I wiped my sweaty palms on my slacks. This feeling that coursed through my body was all too new to me and I didn't know how to treat it, until the solution hit me. Finding my voice, I spoke up.

"Tomorrow… um, tea?"

"Sure." she answered handing me a rather crumpled piece of paper and a pencil. "Write down your number and leave it on my table when you're finished."

"I'll catch you later." she finished, a smirk taking over her features.

"Yeah." I whispered. But, it was too late for her to catch it as she was already gone, the door gliding closed behind her.

I felt excited to be meeting up with her again.

 **A/N :** It's G, back again for the Wednesday upload! From this point on the story switches point of view between P & L, so make sure to look for the bolded P.O.V tags:)

Happy reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**

 **Peridot P.O.V**

"So, as expected, we have some things to discuss regarding your future." my mother voiced, setting herself down across from me at the large dining table. She placed a large folder, filled to the brim with an assortment of papers in between us.

"What are your concerns?" I asked nervously, wringing my hands in my lap. I had always felt extremely nervous under the unwavering glare of Yellow Diamond. That was her alias anyways, only she and a few select individuals knew her true name. How she even refused to tell me, her own daughter, it was beyond my knowledge.

"As I know that you are well informed, under no circumstances are you to be inheriting my company. That honour belongs to your older sister, Emerald." she stated in a monotone voice, opening up the folder and beginning to go through the papers.

"I know." the unpleasant truth is that I had heard this a million times, yet every new opportunity it came up, it felt as if my dreams had been crushed under her heeled boot.

Diamond Incorporated was one of the biggest tech supplying companies there was. It was almost to a fault that every person had one if not multiple Diamond products in their house.

From a young age, I had always had the newest Diamond laptop. My mother expected that I would use it solely for the purpose of school work, but not long after my twelfth birthday, I had begun to learn the basics of Python.

By the time I was sixteen, I had programmed multiple plugins for my favorite games, yet another thing I had to keep secret from her. Video games did capture my heart sometime in my early adolescence, my favorite genres being first person shooters and RPG's.

Little to her knowledge, I had been planning something _much_ bigger. Something, in fact, that might give me a major leg in up in my plan to eventually acquire the company.

"But, the reason I am here to talk to you is marriage." I coiled back in surprise. It was true that my twenty first birthday was coming quite quickly, but I had never expected her to be marrying me off so young.

"The folder in front of me is some information on the companies and CEOs who all have sons who are eligible and have contacted me on the subject." My mother had no clue what my preference was and frankly, I didn't think she cared in the least. I had never been skilled with acknowledging my feelings for others, let alone acting on them. The christmas party being a rare exception, as I had quickly panicked and asked the DJ on a date in our last few interactions of the evening.

Honestly, I had wanted to bring up the fact that I was homosexual with my mother for quite some time, but I didn't think she'd be accepting. I took a deep breath, in a sorry attempt to release my anxiety with a sigh.

"Okay." was all I responded with.

"Now, I am willing to give you a final chance." she offered, intensely intriguing me.

"If you are to find someone on your own volition before your twenty second birthday, then you are allowed to marry them, all expenses covered."

"Wait, are you being serious?" I exclaimed, my voice raising several decibels.

"Yes. Do not waste your opportunity." I didn't think that my mother would ever offer me this much freedom, but I had to make sure her terms were broad enough to include someone of the same sex.

"Anyone?" I confirmed.

"Now hold on, I'm getting to that. My one condition is that I must meet them and decide if they are a good partner for you." there it was, the twisted catch.

"You have a year and a half. Good luck." and that was all, gathering her papers into a neat stack, Yellow Diamond left the table.

I really couldn't afford to mess this date up

 **A/N :** Here's the Friday Upload! Finally you all get a bit more info on Peri's life in this AU, what are your thoughts? Let us know!

Anyways, hope to see you all for the Monday upload or maybe even sooner;)

Happy Reading!

\- G


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

 **Lapis Lazuli P.O.V**

Today was the day I'd been waiting for, since the party. It was the day that I had planned to meet up...

With, Greg Universe.

 **-The night of the party-**

" _Hey! Do you need some help?" The balding man about in his late forties asked, hopping out of his van and making his way across blacktop._

" _Man, those look really heavy." he worried, reaching his arms out to the large speakers._

" _Thanks." I sighed, wiping my forehead with my free hand, frowning as some extra electric blue dye stained the back of my hand. I reached around to the subwoofer in the bed of my pickup, reaching for the dolly._

" _I need to load these on." I explained as I unfolded it, barely lifting the speakers up. The guy reached over easily, taking the equipment out of my hands like it was a pillow and put it right in its place._

" _Well then..." I sighed, as I compared my strength to a fully grown man. I never liked to show signs of weakness, or failure and when I did it was a real mood killer._

" _What are you using these speakers for?" he asked, giving me a polite smile._

" _Just a gig for some fancy person banquet, the only thing I know is that I'm getting paid." I smirked, snickering at my own comment._

" _No way! I used to be in the music business myself, back in my glory days anyways." he exclaimed, reaching for the subwoofer with muscle, "So, what are you aimin' for?"_

" _Well… I want to be a rockstar." I spoke, looking sheepishly at my feet._

" _Shooting big, I like it!"_

" _Yeah, I'll make to Empire City some day... I-In a tour bus, maybe with some other bandmates. My lyrics will inspire people... Anyone who will listen...But I never got a chance to even learn a simple instrument, funny how that works…"_

" _Well, I believe in you. If you ever need lessons with the guitar, I'm your guy."_

I gave two hard knocks on the door of a car wash, rocking back and forth on my heels as I waited. I hummed a tune and hoped for the best. It wasn't like me to do something out of my comfort zone. I never really liked asking for favours.

The door swung open revealing a smiling Greg.

"Well hey! Look who it is!"

"Uh… Hi…" I muttered, my arms stiff at my side.

"Dad! Dad! Are the Gems here?!" a high pitched voice sang from inside the car wash.

"Nope. Sorry, Shtoo-ball. Just my new apprentice!" He said, full of pride.

"Woah… An apprentice?!" said the voice, now coming forward to be a young boy. He was short and slightly chubby, bouncing up and down on his toes causing his black curly hair to move with him. "I wanna meet em'! I wanna meet em!" he cried.

"Uh… Yeah! Lapis, Steven. Steven, uh… Lapis! This is my son, if ya' haven't guessed." Greg explained, bring him to his side.

"Um… Cool…"

"Anyways, ready to get your guitar on?!"

"Sure." I beamed, giving my mood an instant pick up.

"Alright! Let's get to it!"

"Ow…" I sighed looking down at my raw fingers, this was surely gonna take a toll on my hands…

"Yep," Greg hummed looking my way, "That'll happen for awhile. At least until you get some calluses on those fingers."

"Thank you… by the way"

"Oh well, no problem for a friend!"

"Friends… Yeah…" I scoffed at his comment.

"Aw, come on! Here," he said grabbing the guitar i had been using, "Take my guitar. As a sign of our friendship!"

I couldn't think of much to say. I'd never had the chance to own anything like this before, there was no way Greg could know how much that meant to me.

"But don't let it go to waste! It'll take more than just lessons to really make you a star." I nodded. Thanking him once again before heading back to my dorm.

When I arrived back on campus, I wasted no time getting to my dorm. Once I was there I ran to fully examine Greg's guitar. It was a beautiful acoustic with a rich, full sound. You could tell it had been used well because there were scrapes around the soundhole and a bunch of indents all along the fretboard. All those nicks and scrapes didn't bother me, if anything they were inspiring. I hoped one day this beautiful instrument will carry even more stories than it already does.

Placing my hands where they had wanted to be for so long, I strummed out a note, ready to go wherever my future planned on taking me.

 **A/N :** Finally! Some new characters! Hope you all enjoyed seeing some more Lapis and her start on her road to stardom:)

Well, see you Wednesday!

(I'll most likely publish another chapter tonight if we get some good feedback, we love hearing from you!)

\- G


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6_**

 **Peridot P.O.V**

I sat in front of my mirror, staring at my reflexion until my eyes became unfocused. I wrung my hands to the point where all the joints in them were sore. To say I was nervous was an understatement.

I let out a weak chuckle as I remembered my fashion choices for this afternoon. Lapis' blue ruffled blouse paired with traditional blue skinny jeans. I was an aesthetic robber.

I decided against wearing any makeup, taking my time in contorting my hair into a long side braid, swept to the left.

Setting myself down in the driver's seat of my forest green Model S, I rested my head against the steering wheel, trying to calm my thoughts. I hated driving my Tesla through town. Don't get me wrong, it's really a beautiful car and quite satisfying to speed in, but I never liked the attention.

I would always get stares from pedestrians or other drivers. Normal wealthy people would jump at the chance to rub it in people's faces how many expensive belongings they owned. I was not a normal wealthy person. I didn't like feeling superior to others.

Starting the car, I made a snap decision to take the less busy roads to my destination and park quite a long ways away from the cafe to avoid Lapis seeing it.

Stepping out of the car, I had some trouble trotting down the street in my kitten heeled boots. Despite having to wear heels on several occasions, I could never get the hang of it. It seemed clumsiness didn't run in the family as my mother was portrayed as the epitome of grace.

I rounded a corner, the lights of the cafe bright in the dim evening air. Slowing my pace to a speed walk, I reveled in the victory of being able to jog that entire length without falling on my face.

The modern aesthetic of the cafe was pleasing. Removing my typical dark brown pea coat, I slung it over my left arm in search to see if she had already arrived. Locking eyes with her vivid blue ones, I felt my breath hitch and my heart race.

It was going to be an interesting encounter.

 **Lapis Lazuli P.O.V**

I got to the cafe a bit early just to make sure we had a table, and god was I happy I did. By the time I'd ordered and gotten a seat for the two of us, people were flooding in for desserts. I'd gotten a green tea for myself and Peridot aswell, I figured that she would like it as that was what I'd had helped her spill a couple night ago.

Eventually she got to the cafe and just as she entered we noticed each other. Peridot quickly walked over to me and took her seat and once she was settled I passed her the cup I'd bought.

"How did you know green was my favorite?" she asked, beaming into the steaming cup.

"Magic of course, it's not like you spilled green tea on yourself when I met you or anything..." I chuckled, breaking into a smile

"Oh." she sighed, visibly discouraged.

"No worries, Peridot, it's good choice" I reassured her, showing her the green tea in my mug.

"Um-"

"Oh my god, is that my shirt?!" I began to burst out laughing in the middle of the cafe, drawing some attention to ourselves, "Shit, sorry..." I whispered

"Yeah, it's yours. I don't really know why I chose to wear it."

"At least you'll get some use out of it, unlike me." I said gesturing to my outfit.

"I don't fully understand, could you elaborate?" Peridot asked cocking her head to one side. Her ignorance to social skills was charming.

"I won't wear it, you can have it. I don't suit that kind of stuff like you do, Peridot."

"Are you absolutely positive that you want me to have it?" She stammered, with a failed attempt to hide her red face from the compliment.

"Totally, it's yours." I told her, taking the last sip of my drink.

"Wow, thanks."

"So… Do you have a sweet tooth? This place is famous for their desserts." I asked, subtlely sliding her a dessert menu. Peridot didn't respond but clearly answered as she snatched up the menu and began drooling over the goods baked fresh in the store. She kept flipping through the pages but always came back to a picture of key lime pie that was obviously calling her name.

"You want it?" I chuckled at her playfully. She flashed me an adorable smile, one that was quite similar to that of a kitten, slowly nodding her head.

"Excuse me," I called getting the attention of a waiter, "Can we get a piece of key lime pie?" The waiter then quickly nodded and walked off to the kitchen leaving the table behind.

"Now we wait..."

I just watched as Peridot devoured her pie as I silently sat with my second cup of tea. The joy on her face was just so pure and innocent I couldn't help but smile. She licked a small glob of whipped cream off her lips before speaking.

"Why didn't you order anything besides the tea?"

"Sweets just aren't my thing." I lied with a smile, truthfully this night would blow my spending budget for the month if I ordered. But I'd rather make it up to Peridot then spoil myself. I sighed silently, thinking about the ramen that would greet me when I got back to my dorm. College life was great in comparison to where I was before all of this happened. It was nights like these that really made me sure of my decision to leave.

"Oh, surely you wouldn't like key lime pie would you..." I shrugged at her question.

"Well, I'm not sure actually. Never had it." I admitted, getting through my second cup of tea. But before I knew it there was a spoonful of sugary goodness at the tip of my nose. I looked past the spoon to see a mumbling Peridot pushing it towards me.

"Well then... Don't mind if I do." I grinned, helping myself to the dessert. After dropping the spoon onto the table, she buried her completely red face in the palms of her hands, grumbling total nonsense. I laughed at her reaction, the action was so simple to me but apparently not to her.

"You okay there, Peridot?" I snickered, giving her head a soft poke. She only groaned in response before lifting her head to show her flustered appearance.

"Yes I am fine." she barely managed to choke out.

"Hey, uh… It's gettin' a bit late, we should probably get going." I stated, watching as the early fall sun began to set

"I'll get the bill." she interjected, waving the waiter over to our table.

"No, no way. I'm the one who caused this mess. It's my treat." I insisted, taking my wallet out of my jean pocket.

"I won't allow it. I don't feel right about you spending your money on me." she argued, pulling her own wallet out of her purse on the seat beside her.

"Come on, Peri." that made her freeze, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Reaching back over to the adjacent seat, she replaced her wallet back in its original spot. It's to see funny how she got embarrassed so easily. "See it wasn't that hard! Waiter!"

"Can I walk you to your car?" I offered Peridot.

"I… um." little did I know, she was scrambling for an excuse.

"I parked quite far away as there were next to no spots when I arrived." she explained, swinging her strap purse onto her shoulder and wringing her hands together. "But, I wanted to thank you for coming on this date with me."

I coiled back in shock, taking a moment to blink at her a few times before audibly gulping. "This… was a date?"

Peridot immediately averted her gaze to her kitten heeled boots, twisting the ball of her foot against the ground a few times. I understood the situation and felt terrible.

"No, no! It's okay!" I exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "How about I take _you_ on an actual date." I offered. She raised her flushed face to meet my worried expression.

"T-that sounds good." she replied.

We agreed on next Friday.

 **A/N :** Tadaa! Here's the Wednesday chapter:) Might double upload today (i know i sadid that monday but...ヽ(´ー｀)┌)

Happy reading

\- G


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7_**

 **Peridot P.O.V**

I rushed up the stairs to my suite, swinging the door closed behind me. Deciding to change out of my dress clothes from the "date" earlier this evening, I decided on a green singlet with black pyjama shorts. Throwing my forest green bathrobe over it all, I sat myself down at my desk on the other side of the room.

I felt mortified that I hadn't clarified with Lapis that I was implying a date. I was still trying to figure out my feelings for the blue haired girl and frankly, the fact that I was on a strict time limit didn't make the situation any better. I kicked the back board of my desk, feeling some satisfaction as a few objects toppled off and hit the carpet with a soft thud.

Sighing, I took the braid out of my long curly hair, deciding to put in a messy top knot instead. Once my hands were free, I brushed all of my notes on my project into a neat pile and started up my laptop.

For almost nine years now, ever since I began learning the basics of Python, I couldn't help but dream big. Since the age of twelve, I had planned out a future game that I had wanted to program called Illusions. This was one of the major projects that I had been keeping from my mother. The coding was halfway done.

Thankfully, I had been in cahoots with multiple pixel artists recently who had agreed to all help with the scenery and the character design.

I was stoked to be so close to accomplishing a dream that I had had since I was quite small.

The plot followed as such.

Hundreds of years from our time, humanity was at war with itself. Various countries began to fight each other for the natural resources still left on the planet. Around the end of the war, the protagonist had entered a coma.

At the end of the war, a biohazard bomb had been dropped on one of the main fighting countries causing the citizens to experience powerful hallucinations, rendering the normal services provided useless due to people slowly dying off. But somehow, they prevailed. Scientists developed a cure, administering it to all of the country's citizens. The land however, remained unusable, causing most cities to flee. They left behind the criminals.

The protagonist wakes up in an abandoned hospital, still under the influence of the disease caused by the bomb. They were never given the cure due to the fact that they were in a coma. They have to find their way through the city, with the help of a companion, deciding to put their energy into what is real and what isn't. Their main goal is to get them both out of the city whilst searching for the remainder of the cure.

Conquering various trials and tribulations, they make it to the outskirts of the city with antidote. After administering the cure, the protagonist becomes extremely confused when they walk through a graveyard and spot a headstone with their companion's name on it. When they look up, the companion is nowhere to be seen, they were an illusion all along.

The screen will fade to black, ending the game with a simple quote, a quote that had birthed this idea all those years ago.

"Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding the truth." - Ludwig Borne

The art style would follow an old school eight bit style, giving long term gamers a nostalgic feel to the background and characters. I hadn't even began to think about what I was going to do with the soundtrack.

Whenever I remembered the story, I felt strangely giddy. I was interesting to me that I would eventually be able to manipulate people's emotions through my work. Once my computer notified me with a chime that it was ready to go, I opened up my coding program and distracted myself in the only way I knew how, burying myself in my work.

I giggled to myself as I remembered my final plan for the company. It would be quite the shock for my mother when she found out.

 **A/N :** G here! I know I've been hinting lately at extra uploads recently, So... Here's a small extra chapter for ya! The next chapter is quite small aswell, so you'll either get it today, tomorrow _or_ two uploads for friday:)

Happy Reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8_**

 **Lapis P.O.V**

I carried my guitar case on my back as I jogged towards the car wash. It was my second Friday lesson with Greg Universe and his son, Steven. I had been practicing to the point that my fingers were completely raw and covered in blisters and to show for it, I was able to play some chords pretty confidently.

During my spare time between the two lessons, I had also been working on my songwriting like crazy. Since a young age, I had had a way with showing my feelings through writing, yet another thing my parents didn't support.

As I rounded the block, I smiled as I saw the big neon sign of an elephant bathing itself over top of the phrase "It's a wash". Adjusting my strap, I made my way towards the building, humming a random tune.

Once at the door, I gave it two short knocks. The door swung open to show none other than Steven Universe looking up at me.

"Dad, Lapis is here!" he called behind him, yelling for his father. Greg Universe came around the corner behind his son.

"Hey Lapis! We'll be out by the van today." he chimed, passing his son and heading out towards the parked van. As I sat down in a nearby foldable lawn chair, I shot him a funny look as he ripped through everything in his van. Finally fishing out a navy blue t-shirt with the words Mr. Universe stuck on the front, he chucked it at me.

"If you play, you stay. Welcome to the family." he smiled warmly, dusting off his hands before sitting down in a lawn chair across from Steven's. Steven tugged at his shirt, showing me his own personal star to represent the club.

"Yeah! We always need people who love to play music!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

"So now that you are comfortable with a few basic songs, what do you think about going busking? Steven and I will be there to help you, with our instruments of course." I leaned the instrument that was in my arms against the chair and began twisting the bottom of my blue t-shirt. I swallowed loudly before voicing my response.

"I haven't really put much thought into it honestly." I spoke, my anxiety getting the best of me.

"Well, if you ever want to make it to Empire City, you're gonna have to start somewhere." Steven chimed. I was shocked by how wise he could be sometimes when he was so young.

"He's got the right idea." Greg agreed, running a hand through his son's hair. "It might seem intimidating now, but, believe me, it will get easier."

"Where were you thinking?" I spoke up, turning my attention from Steven to Greg.

"Anywhere's a possibility, really. I had the boardwalk in mind though." he grimaced at the sight of my wrecked hands.

"Be sure to tape them up." he added quickly.

"Yeah." I agreed, wincing.

"So, um, how about Saturday this week? We'll all meet here?"

"Yeah that sounds good." I muttered, realising that I had forgotten someone. "I'm gonna bring a friend."

"The more the merrier!"

 **-**

 **A/N :** Here's the next chapter as promised! Did you like it? Let us know, we love hearing from you:)

Happy Reading!~

\- G


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

 **Lapis P.O.V**

Standing in the dorm bathroom, I tied my short blue hair back with a bandanna a few shades lighter. Running wild with the sailor theme, I brushed some phantom dust off my blue and white striped halter neck. Rummaging around in my makeup bag, I finally found my black liquid eyeliner. With a few screwups, resulting in several wads of wet toilet paper I had two equal wings on either eye.

I didn't really wear makeup, but tonight was going to be a special occasion. Taking a few steps back to get a good at my outfit in the mirror, I frowned, running a hand over the scars that still marked both of my arms. They healed a while ago but I made the mistake of thinking I had beat Her.

It was in these sort of times that She really came to play, reminding of how twisted and sick She made me. She drowned my calm thoughts and replaced them with self hate. I was stupid to think that She would be gone so easy. I stroked my nose, remembering one of the places where She liked to focus.

She forced me to make my insecurities visible to the entire world right on my face and between my shoulder blades, She forced me to carry the weight of my own self hatred wherever I went.

Shaking my head, I swore that no matter how hard it would be, I would never give up the fight to _Her, to_ Malachite. I swore that no matter where things took me, I would always win. I had to... I gasped as I heard her voice for the first time in two years.

'You fool, she'll see them. They'll scare her off. You have too much baggage for her.' I gulped for air, frowning and clenching my fists.

'Fuck off.' my inner voice snarled.

'I've defeated you once, and I sure as hell won't hesitate to do it again.'

It made everything easier to give this side of myself a name, calling it Malachite. Getting rid of those thoughts, I took one more deep breath as I waited in my temporary victory.

'I'm going to have a good time tonight and you can wallow in **your** self pity for once.'

 **Peridot P.O.V**

If I was nervous last time I was going to meet up with Lapis Lazuli, then an outsider would have mistaken it for armageddon this time. I had spent an hour of my time straightening my long, painfully blonde hair, becoming extremely bored as I finished the last piece. I sure hoped I didn't miss any parts. I wasn't informed on where we were going, but I assumed that semi-formal dress would be my best bet.

I walked the length of my closet, stroking the various articles as I went. This time I chose a pair of grey high rise jeans, a white singlet with a green alien face on it and a dark green cardigan to cover it. A matching pair of ankle height wedge boots seemed to be calling my name from the corner of my room. Anything to make me look taller than a measly five feet.

I groaned as I remembered that I had to pick my date up. I felt insecure about my riches already, let alone the fact that I was giving a Lapis a ride in my eighty thousand dollar car.

Running down the stairs, I payed no mind to my mother shooting me strange looks.

Starting the car, I read over the directions to where Lapis lived one more time before driving off.

 **Lapis P.O.V**

Despite having put a white cardigan over my shoulders, I couldn't help but feel slightly chilly in the early September air. I felt like my eyes were gonna pop out of their sockets as Peridot pulled her car into the college parking lot. Out of all the cars there were, she owned a Tesla, a fucking _Tesla_. They were my favorite and I had been drooling over them for a while. Clearly the universe was trying to tell me something. Running towards my ride, I couldn't help but scream.

"Holy shit Peridot! This is your car?!" she shifted the stick into park, looking really embarrassed.

"Yeah..." she muttered, staring at her steering wheel.

"It's beautiful..." I gushed, running around the vehicle to hop into the passenger's seat.

"Like you." I could've sworn I heard her whisper before she turned her gaze away from me to look out her window. I grinned like a goof at her adorable quirks.

"So where to captain." she asked, putting the car into drive and leaving the college parking lot.

"Um, the boardwalk." I responded, admiring the car by running a hand across the dashboard.

"Okay."

"So how are you with rollercoasters?" I began, as she stopped at a red light.

"Um, I," she stared down at her lap before speaking. "I've never actually been on one. Growing up, my mother never let me do anything even slightly amusing."

"I guess we have that in common." she laughed dryly.

 **Peridot P.O.V**

Pulling into the closest parking spot to the actual boardwalk, I really began to regret my decision of wearing any type of heel.

Seeing the lights of the rides far away made me feel a strange sort of second hand nostalgia. The coloured orbs in the distance reflected in Lapis' deep blue eyes as she began to smile, almost projecting her memories into the dusk air.

"Who doesn't love a good carnival date?" she breathed, breaking out of her trance. I hummed in response.

"Duly noted." I shrugged, trying to shove my hands into the fake pockets on my jeans. I growled as I remembered that women's jeans didn't usually come with that luxury.

"Alrighty, where to start?" Lapis sang, gesturing to the sights in front of the two of us.

"I'm not certain…" I shrugged, grinding the ball of my foot into the particular wooden plank of the boardwalk under it.

"Okay… let's break it down then, rides or games?" She inquired, not showing any preference to either choice.

"Games… I suppose?" I spoke with uncertainty, not knowing what they entailed.

"Games it is." Lapis chimed, grabbing my hand and dragging me off towards the small stalls, inflicting a blush to dominate my features. I was thankful that the sun had gone below the horizon, it only made it easier to conceal.

Slapping a five dollar bill on the counter, I decided to try the ring toss game first. When we had passed the booth, a large alien plushie had caught my attention and I was determined to make it mine.

"Alrighty, kid. You get ten shots!" the man behind the counter exclaimed. His name couldn't possibly be Mr. Smiley, could it? That was what his name tag read.

I coiled my arm back, readying myself for the throw. In one swift motion, the red metal ring soared through the air, landing and circling the neck of the bottle several times before it became stagnant. Lapis erupted in cheers behind me, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

"That was amazing Peri!" she exclaimed. Slowly, I turned around to face her, her excited expression transitioning to one of confusion.

"Peri…" I whispered, locking eyes with her. "I like it!"

To my surprise, I was able to land every ring, winning my prize. Forgetting something important, I called out to Lapis, who was standing right next to me.

"Lazuli! Lazuli!" I got in front of her, waving my arms wildly.

"Yes?" she drawled, her eyes scanning my expression in an attempt to see what had came over me.

"I still have to win you something!" I explained, gesturing to the stalls around us.

"Oh."

Her eyes flickered from stuffed animal to animal, raising a hand to her mouth as she made her decision.

"That one." she decided, pointing to a large stuffed blue dolphin not too far away from where we were standing. All I needed to do was strategically pop several balloons with a metal dart and I could claim it for her.

As I had done with the ring toss game, I landed five perfect shots, shocking the teen behind the counter.

"I guess it's yours." he muttered, passing the light blue dolphin to me. Once acquired, it went right into the waiting arms of Lapis, who cuddled it to her chest.

"Sorry, but I can't let you on with your stuffed animals." the woman frowned, turning us away from the rollercoaster as neither of us planned on giving up our prizes any time soon. We sauntered away from the gate of the ride, deciding on our next course of action.

"What about the ferris wheel?" I began, thrusting a finger at the large ride that was lit up like a beacon.

"Sure!" Lapis agreed, once again taking me by the hand and leading me in that direction.

Once entering our seat, we waited patiently before the wheel began to rotate, giving us a breathtaking view of Beach City, completed with multicolored lighting.

"Peri?" Lapis succeeded in getting my attention, causing me to turn my head towards her, giving her full view of my bashful expression.

"I just wanted to thank you for coming on this date with me tonight." she spoke softly, reciting the statement I had made last time we met up. It was enough to make my heart race.

And suddenly, the mood and atmosphere got to our emotions. I had to admit that she looked stunning in the lighting and if my heart was racing before, it would be running a one hundred meter olympic sprint as I realised Lapis' intentions.

She was planning on taking it, my first kiss. To say that I was ready to give it up to her would be an understatement, but I felt as if it was too soon.

She commenced to close the gap between us. I shuddered, feeling her breath ghosting on my lips just as a familiar chiptune ringtone killed the mood. We both jumped as I scrambled frantically to reach my phone that I had shoved in my back pocket.

"Hi mom." I answered dully. Lapis' disappointment was evident on her features.

"Yeah. I can be home in half an hour." I sighed, scanning the illuminated city.

"Goodbye." I finished, ending the call and returning my phone to its proper place.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, leaning into her shoulder, suddenly feeling quite exhausted.

"S'okay." she responded, patting me on the head. "So, we gonna try this again?"

"It would be more favorable if I knew you better first, Lazuli?" I suggested, offering a chance to further our platonic bonds.

"Hey, who asked me on a date first? Huh?" she mocked, pointing a finger against my chest.

"Well, following that logic, who asked me on this date? Huh?" I retorted, pushing her away and crossing my arms.

"Alright, Peri, have it your way" She chuckled, raising her hands in mock surrender.

 **A/N :** Cute date acomplished! As I read this again, i realized how many times the P.O.V switched, sorry if it's confusing! If you have questions feel free to ask:)

Happy reading!

\- G


	10. Chapter 10

**_Chapter 10_**

 **Peridot P.O.V**

I checked my phone one last time, my breath hitching as my phone displayed an unread text message from none other than Lapis Lazuli.

Lapis :3 - 3:09

I'll c u soon ;)

I fumbled with my phone for a few seconds before hastily typing out my response.

Me - 3:10

Yeah!

Mentally facepalming for deciding to respond with "Yeah!" I shoved my laptop and its accessories in my lime green backpack, swinging it over my shoulders and headed for the door to my suite.

"Lazuli?" I asked, giving two firms knocks on her dorm room. The door swung open to reveal Lapis Lazuli in navy blue sweat pants and a black form long sleeve shirt. I was frozen in place and hadn't noticed I had been staring.

"Earth to Peridot." she giggled, waving a hand in front of my face. I shuffled from foot to foot in an attempt to regain my composure.

"Right, sorry." I shook my head, moving my gaze to more decent places.

"Anyways." she began, gesturing to her small dorm room. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Sniffing the air around me, I recognized the distinct smell of instant ramen. Beginning to shrug my coat off, I set my backpack on the floor right next to her bed.

"What's in the bag?!" Lapis exclaimed, raising her hands in the air to complete her reference to the 'What's in the box?' meme. I doubled over in laughter, clutching my stomach. Lapis couldn't help but join in as I wheezed.

"My laptop and charger." I answered, wiping away a tear from behind my glasses. "That reminds me… do you like video games?"

"I have a feeling why you insisted on coming here instead of going somewhere else." she grinned knowingly, sitting herself down on her bed.

"Well..." I began, sitting down beside her and booting up my laptop.

"Outlet?"

"Yep." was all she responded with, gesturing to the wall socket behind her.

Plugging one into the wall and the other end into the side of the laptop, I resumed my position, tapping impatiently on her duvet.

"Woah. Is that the new Diamond laptop? I thought they weren't out yet." Lapis exclaimed, pointing to the all too familiar insignia.

"Umm, yeah." I sighed, fixing the position of my glasses.

"Well, how the hell did you get your hands on one?! I mean, I knew you were really rich but-" I cut her off by taking my driver's license out of my pocket, shoving it in her face and continuing to type away on the code. Judging by her silence, she had clearly read my full name.

"Peridot… Diamond?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out." I chuckled dryly, flipping my computer around to show her the code I had been working on.

"Wait, wait." she said quickly, shaking her head. "You mean to tell me you're _Yellow Diamond's daughter_?!" she shrieked, shoving the license back into my hands.

"You're a little slow on the uptake." I stated, frowning as she buried her face in her hands, letting out a load groan.

"I can't believe I spilt tea on the daughter of the owner of the most famous tech company in the entire world. This can't be happening..."

"Lazuli?" I asked meekly, tapping her on the shoulder. After no response, repeated the action.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she shot up, looking me straight in the eyes. Her gaze sure was intimidating.

"I would prefer that someone didn't take advantage of me. I've never really had someone who genuinely liked me for _me_. It's always been about the benefits they could receive from being my friend." I explained, tracing my finger over the keys.

"That makes sense." she drawled, a smile taking over her features.

"So what is this you want to show me?"

"I can't believe this. You did all this coding yourself?" she smiled, as she attempted to comprehend what she was reading.

"Yeah." I responded.

"Well, I shouldn't be surprised. Yellow Diamond probably has the best of the best to teach-"

"No, I learned this by myself. She wouldn't approve of me doing anything worthwhile." I confessed, averting my gaze to the microwave in the corner. I took a deep breath before speaking again.

"No one's ever really had any faith in me to be completely honest. My mother and sister think I'm worthless because I'll never be able to acquire the company and-" I choked, fighting back a sob.

"No one's ever wanted to be my friend for who I was and I-I… thank you. For believing in me." I finished, taking off my glasses and wiping them on my t-shirt. Before anything else was said, I had the wind knocked out of me by a firm hug.

"You're welcome." she stroked my back as I attempted to breathe.

"Now, I'm going to need _your_ help with something."

 **A/N :** G here! And I'm back with the Monday upload:) Gwen really hopes to be more involved soon, but she's currently in a school production of _Heather's_! It's running non-stop for I beleive about another week but, after that Gwenny really wants to come back for good.

If you have any question or comments, please leave a review or PM us!

Happy reading!

-G


	11. CONFIDENTIAL FILE

FILE #2F5L-5XG

[PICTURE ATTACHED]

LEGAL NAME: OLIVE DOTTIE GREENBERG ASSIGNED NAME: PERIDOT SEX: F WARD: 1 [MOVED TO WARD 6]

DIAGNOSIS: AUTISM, ANXIETY AND PANIC DISORDER

OTHER INCLINATIONS: None **[MAGNOKINESIS]**

DESCRIPTION:

Greenberg is a quiet and reserved individual who mostly relies on her intelligence in unfamiliar situations. She does not appear to be hostile or dangerous in any matter. Facility members are to approach her as normal.

 **[DESPITE HER HARMLESS APPEARANCE, PERIDOT IS VERY DANGEROUS. IF PUT UNDER PRESSURE SHE WILL NOT HESITATE TO SEVERELY INJURE OTHERS AND IN EXTREME CASES, KILL. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE FACILITY MEMBERS TO APPROACH HER ALONE AND UNARMED.]**

 **23, 5/ 1, 18, 5/ 14, 15, 20/ 23, 8, 15/ 25, 15, 21/ 20, 8, 9, 14, 11/ 23, 5/ 1, 18, 5**


	12. Chapter 11

**_Chapter 11_**

 **Lapis P.O.V**

"Now, I'm going to need _your_ help with something." I spoke, causing Peridot to slowly lift her head from my hug to look me straight in the eyes.

"What?" she whispered.

"I agreed to go busking this afternoon and I need your help to make sure I don't bail like a wimp." I chuckled and gave her a pat on the head before getting up to grab a change of clothes. It would definitely look weird for me to be playing guitar in my pyjamas, though it wouldn't be the first time. I decided on a pair of ripped jeans and a normal blue tank top, nothing too fancy. I realized that it would be a little chilly outside and I'd rather not have anyone seeing my scars out in plain sight anyway… A leather jacket to cover it all it would hafta do.

"I will make sure you don't bail like a wimp." Peridot repeated in a monotone voice. She quickly jumped as she realised what I was about to do and her hands flew up to cover her eyes.

"W-What are you doing?" she stammered.

"I'm changing. Turn around if it bothers you. It's just a body, I don't really care too much." It was a sad truth I had come to understand. After years of severe depression and crippling anxiety had left me numb to the feeling of my body being something special. I really had no shame… well besides showing my healed over cuts in public.

The only thing I was slightly worried about in that moment was her seeing my scars… I couldn't handle being judged for stupid mistakes. Even though I still hid that side of me, I knew Peridot wouldn't be one to judge me.

Closing her eyes, Peridot used her hands to prop herself up and turn to face the wall. While she was turned around, I slipped on the jeans and the tank top. I then fixed the, to my surprise, actual pockets.

"You can turn around now." I laughed, catching a glimpse of Peridot's flustered expression. Before letting her out the door, with me a few steps behind.

"Hey kiddos." Greg greeted, standing underneath the entrance to Funland. His eyes looked from mine to Peridot's and back again.

"Oh. Um, Greg this is Peridot. Peridot, Greg." I nudged her forward with my elbow.

"Nice to meet you Peridot." he beamed, extending his arm for a handshake. She hesitantly complied.

"A pleasure." she muttered but was quickly caught in a hug as she was caught by a young boy.

"Hi! I'm Steven!" he yelled, squeezing her even tighter. It looked like she was having some troubles breathing.

"Hello..." she breathed, attempting to return the hug. It appeared like shad never received such a warm welcome in her life.

"You ready to get your guitar on?" he continued, throwing his arms in the air once he had let go.

"Yep!" I giggled as Peridot turned to me with a flustered expression.

"How about... Here!" Steven exclaimed, pointing to an area just off the path of the boardwalk. He reached to grab the ukulele he had been carrying on his back. While he was sure Peridot and Greg weren't watching, he shot me a wink to which I copied. I got down on my knees and unzipped the case, laying it on the boards, then stepping back to stand behind it.

Steven turned to me with a knowing smile as I positioned my hands in the correct placement. Little did Greg know, Steven and I had been working on something on the side. I took a deep breath as we began the song.

 _Isn't this such a beautiful night,_

 _Whoah, we're underneath a thousand shining stars._

 _Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different,_

 _Whoa, why don't you just let yourself just be wherever you are._

As we finished the first verse, we had started to attract a few people. Even though it was mid-September, tourism in Beach City had not slowed down. On days like these, the boardwalks became crowded with people, trying to catch what was left of the nice weather before it was gone. I felt like I was being swallowed by my nerves as we began the next verse, but still, I held on.

 _Look at this place, look at your faces._

 _I've never seen you look like this before._

 _Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different,_

 _Woah, why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are._

I lost myself in the look of Peridot's eyes when I finally had the courage to look at completely fascinated, watching Steven and I sing in harmony with each other. I felt my breath hitch and my heart race, It felt like my anxiety was kicking in. But the next thing i thought to myself wasn't a panicked "What If", I just kept asking myself if Peridot had always been so cute...

.

 _Look at this place, look at your faces._

 _They're shining like a thousand shining stars_

 _Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different,_

 _Woah, why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are._

I had to admit, as we kept singing and singing all that time, my worries seemed to rush away like the tide receding along the length of the beach. If this was what it was like to let yourself be free and let your emotions just pour out through music, then this was without doubt something I should've done more often. I was surprised as Steven went silent, making me sing the last two lines solo.

 _Why don't you let yourself just be somewhere different._

 _Woah, why don't you let yourself just be whoever you are._

I was blown away by how much the lyrics to this song applied to not just my life, but Peri's as well. Learning this song, I had focused more on the chords than anything. Because I was keeping myself distracted by Peridot during the song I hadn't realized that by mid-song, but our small audience had gotten bigger. They burst into cheers, obviously wanting something more. Well, good thing Steven and I had planned ahead.

 _If I could begin to be_

 _Half of what you think of me_

 _I could do about anything_

 _I could even learn how to love_

Steven looked over at me as he strummed, giving a nonverbal cue for me to take the next line.

 _When I see the way you act_

 _Wondering when I'm coming back_

 _I could do about anything_

 _I could even learn how to love like you_

 _Love like you_

We exchanged a quick glance before preparing for the bridge.

 _I always thought I might be bad_

 _Now, I'm sure that it's true_

 _Cause' I think you're so good_

 _And I'm nothing like you_

 _Look at you go_

 _I just adore you_

 _I wish that I knew_

 _What makes you think I'm so special_

Greg beamed at us as we broke into the two final verses of the song. It was probably the most proud I had ever seen him. I internally nagged at myself for not learning this skill earlier in life. I had really underestimated how great it made me feel to play my heart out, especially to people you care about..

 _If I could begin to do_

 _Something that does right by you_

 _I would do about anything_

 _I would even learn how to love_

 _When I see the way you look_

 _Shaken by how long it took_

 _I could do about anything_

 _I could even learn how to love like you_

 _Like you_

 _Love me like you_

Once again, the crowd that grew bigger and bigger every minute was cheering. Soon they died down and scattered, almost everyone had dropped money into our instrument cases. One thing in particular caught my attention, a flyer. I crouched down to pick it up and examined it.

 **Open Mic Nite**

 **Saturday, September 24th**

 **Beach City Cafe**

I took the hint.

 **A/N:** Here's a just because chapter, because I have no school work currently! if y'all have any comments, critisisms or questions please leave a review:)

happy reading!

\- G


	13. Chapter 12

**_Chapter 12_**

 **Peridot P.O.V**

The week had been mostly uneventful, but that was how I enjoyed it. I had been not so patiently awaiting the next time I would be able to see Lapis, and I was beginning to get restless. Pacing on the soft carpet of the bedroom area of my suite, I jumped as my phone went off. I crossed the room to pick it up off my bed, my heart racing as it displayed a new message from none other than Lapis Lazuli.

Lapis :3 - 1:54

I need you to come with me to this thing later

Me - 1:54

Okay. Where are we going?

Lapis :3 - 1:55

I agreed to go to a sorority party

Meet at my dorm at 7

Me - 1:55

Will do. Do you need me to bring anything along?

Lapis :3 - 1:56

Nah

Thanks tho

Throwing my phone back on my bed, I started the daunting task of picking my outfit. I always like to do things in advance so I wouldn't have to worry about them later on. I then spent sometime working before putting on my choice of clothing. A fair amount of time passed and I was all done up, ready to meet Lapis Lazuli at her dorm.

"Hey." Lapis greeted, pulling me into an awkward hug.

"Hi." I responded, my voice muffled by her oversized blue sweater.

"Your hair looks cute." she complimented, gesturing to my face as she pulled away. I was feeling particularly lazy tonight and decided to put the top half of my hair in a bun, leaving the rest to fall over my shoulders.

"Thank you."

"Well… C'mon." she laughed, grabbing my hand and pulling us towards the elevators.

Lapis pulled us into the large beach house, that somehow was still relatively close to campus. I scanned the room carefully, and clearly, the party had already gotten started.

"Hey Sourcream!" Lapis called and waved, getting the attention of the DJ behind the booth. He freed one ear from his head set so that he could hear her. However, she didn't say anything. Giving him a thumbs up and flashing a huge smile, she then turned her attention to the main party goers.

I watched as a girl that seemed in her late teens jumped up on the table as she began dancing, a beer in hand. Short and stout, she had long silver, hanging long past her waist, her white tank top tucked into her ripped skinny jeans and a backwards purple snapback to top it all off.

As quickly as she had jumped on, she was chastised down by another girl, this one much taller and slimmer. Her chin length bob swayed as she yelled, her hands placed firmly on the waistband of her highrise skinny jeans. The shorter girl raised her hands in mock surrender, stepping off carefully. Brushing off her pastel blue sleeveless blouse, she walked off in the other direction.

"Por el amor de Dios…(For the love of god…)" the silver haired girl sighed loudly, downing the rest of her drink.

In the far corner, stood a tall dark skinned woman wearing shades. She had her arms crossed as she observed the entire situation with a cheeky grin.

Coming back to her senses after watching the entire event unfold, Lapis spoke.

"Let's go meet them, shall we."

"Sure."

"Peridot, this is Pearl and Amethyst." Lapis explained, gesturing to the two girls in front of me.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled, albeit a little hesitantly. Pearl reached for my hand first, stopping mid-shake to address Lapis.

"Es-ce qu'elle est ta copine?(Is she your girlfriend?)" she asked, not even bothering to realise that I had understood every word she said. I knew five languages. Thanks mom?

"Non.(No.)" Lapis responded, causing me to frown. How she knew French, I had no idea.

"Vous savez que je comprends tout que vous disiez, oui?(You guys know that I understand everything you're saying, right?)" I scoffed, moving to shake hands with Amethyst. They both looked at their shoes bashfully.

"Ella es muy bonita. Podría robarla.(She's really hot. I might steal her.)" she smirked to Lapis, sizing me. I began to fume at the adjective.

"Esto es incómodo..(This is uncomfortable…)" I snarled, demonstrating I knew Spanish as well.

"Amethyst! That was out of line!" Pearl chastised, hitting her over the head with a nearby abandoned newspaper as Lapis and I stifled giggles.

"Sorry… Perdon." she muttered, scratching the back of her head. Her and Pearl sauntered off.

"How do you know both Spanish and French?" I asked, turning my attention away from the duo.

"Likewise?" she retorted.

We exchanged a glance, knowing what the answer would be. "Parents." we shrugged as we sighed the word in unison.

"My dad's from Quebec and my mom's from Mexico." Lapis explained, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"Makes sense. My mom's just anal for lack of a better word."

"Hey, um, are you okay?" she asked nervously, grasping for my hand.

"Yeah. She just called me pretty is all." I explained as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, Lapis led me across the room to sit me down on one of the sofas.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I hate it. That's all I was good for when I was younger. I always wished people would tell me that I was smart or something. I've always seen beauty as superficial." I sighed, slumping into her shoulder.

"Oh. For the record, you're absolutely brilliant. You'd have to be stupid not to notice."

"Thanks." I sniffed. "You're brilliant too."

We just sat there for a while, content in comforting each other simultaneously. The party began to die down as a lot of the guests left for the night. Amethyst and Pearl conversed the the woman who hadn't moved her position the entire night. The former of the two was visibly ashamed with her actions from earlier this evening and the latter was angry with her for messing up their first impressions from me.

From here I could see that something clicked with Pearl has she had frozen in spot, feet rooted to the ground.

"I'll go see what's up." Lapis declared, almost as if she was reading my mind.

"What's her last name?" Pearl demanded, her stare had stayed on a certain spot on the wall for a long amount of time.

"I'm not sure she wants me telling you guys." I said truthfully, swaying my arms at my sides awkwardly.

"I can't believe I hit on Yellow Diamond's daughter..." Amethyst sighed, sinking onto the floor.

"So you were right Garnet." Pearl sighed, finally snapping from her weird trance.

"I always am." Garnet smiled, adjusting her shades and putting her arms back to their crossed position.

"I think she's into you too." Amethyst stated, staring up at me.

"That much is obvious!" Pearl exclaimed, her arms on her hips.

"What are you going to do?" Garnet asked, raising one hand to point to Peridot who was currently inspecting the ocean through the window.

"I don't know." I whined, turning to look at her. "Is this something I have to figure out right now?"

"I guess not." Garnet hummed.

 **A/N :** And the Crystal Gems finally make an appearance! Just for clarification in this AU they're a Uni Sorority (Rose was the head before she passed/dissapeared), but they still care and love Steven very much! Lapis is NOT part of the sorority, but is friends with the group and often visits them (if there's any questions about the gems just ask!). Anyways, the Wednesdat upload is here!

Happy Reading;)

\- G


	14. CONFIDENTIAL FILE 2

FILE #9H3G-2FL

[PICTURE ATTACHED] LEGAL NAME: AZULA MARIA SALVA ASSIGNED NAME: LAPIS LAZULI SEX: F WARD: 3 **[MOVED TO WARD 6]**

* * *

DIAGNOSIS: TREATMENT RESISTANT DEPRESSION, P.T.S.D AND EXTREME SUICIDAL TENDENCIES

OTHER INCLINATIONS: None **[HYDROKINESIS]**

DESCRIPTION:

Salva is a dangerous individual. A few circumstances have been reported where Salva has inflicted severe harm to herself. Must be kept in a straight-jacket at all times to prevent further damage.

 **[LAPIS LAZULI WILL NOT HESITATE TO TAKE DOWN FACILITY MEMBERS TO WHOM SHE IS NOT FAMILIAR. APPROACH WITH EXTREME CAUTION. SHE WILL DROWN ANYONE SHE SEES AS A THREAT]**

 **23, 1, 19, 20, 9, 14, 7/ 1, 23, 1, 25**


	15. Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13_**

 **Peridot P.O.V**

I rushed to my computer, checking my email for the tenth time that day. Still nothing. I got up from my desk and collapsed onto my bed face first. I had been not so patiently awaiting a response from a pixel artist I had hired to design the sprites of my characters.

Moonlightmagic was one of the most popular artists online, and thankfully, she had only just started to take commissions. We had talked several times over skype and through email and she agreed to create all of the characters and most objects the player could interact with. Her actual name was Skyler and she was a wonderful person to have on my team.

Beside me, my phone began to chime, informing me I had a new text message.

 ** _Lapis 3 - 9:23_**

Hey u whats up

Why did my body have to have such a reaction. Thrusting my arm out, I easily caught a pillow in my grasp and shoved my face into it. Taking deep breaths to try and calm my frantic heartbeat, I wiped my sweaty palms on the pillowcase before clutching my phone to reply.

 ** _Me - 9:25_**

Ugh. Just waiting on somebody.

I sighed and brought up my email app on my phone. Still nothing.

 ** _Lapis 3 - 9:25_**

Who

I contemplated telling her about the design I had planned for the various characters and objects, but I decided against it. I didn't know how much free time she had.

 _ **Me - 9:26**_

Just a pixel artist.

 _ **Lapis 3 - 9:26**_

A commission?

 _ **Me - 9:27**_

Yeah, for the game.

 _ **Lapis 3 - 9:27**_

Oh

Seeing as this conversation was practically dead in the water, I crossed my suite to sit at my desk and reload my inbox. I nearly jumped out of my chair as I saw a new attachment from Moonlightmagic.

It was even more beautiful than I ever could imagine. She nailed the aesthetic of each and every sprite I had requested. I felt giddy as I raced to tell my new best friend about it.

 _ **Me - 9:31**_

THEY'RE SO PRETTY

 _ **Lapis 3 - 9:32**_

Omg. Plz forward them to meeee

 _ **Me - 9:32**_

Will do.

Complying with her request, I started a new email, attaching the files and sending it off. I gave her a few minutes to look at them before replying.

 _ **Lapis 3 - 9:40**_

THEY ARE

Peri im so happy for you!

 _ **Me - 9:41**_

Thanks Laz

Feeling the satisfaction of closure, I turned off my phone and headed for my shower, grabbing a pair of pyjamas on the way. Knowing that I would be able to sleep easy not worrying about when I would receive the art.

 **-**  
 **A/N :** wE LIVE! Hey y'all It's G, I'm really sorry for the unexpected break -_-

Gwenny visited our home town over springbreak and we decided it was best to spend uor time offline as we only see eachother face to face a few times a year. I hope you can all understand:) Besides Gwen visiting lil' old me, I also had... **_Midterms!_**

But no need to fret! Because G2 is back in buissness baby! AND to make up for the missed uploads I'll be doubling up chapters on upload days (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) :)

On another note always feel free to PM/add to reviews any questions coments or critsims! Infact we got a questions before the impromtu break so here it is:)

 _King Meezy_ _chapter 13 . Mar 15_

 ** _How about Bismuth? Is she gonna fit in this story?_**

In short... no, sorry:( This Fanfic was mid-(first)publishing and completely drafted out _before_ Bismuth even made an appearance in the episodes. THOUGH, if it is requested we could try our best to incorporate her into our unfinished/in-progess stories. Let us know if your interested in that and we'll try our best!

So that's about it for this author's note, sorry for the length (I felt it fair to explain the sudden break:)).

Happy Reading!

\- G


	16. Chapter 14

**_Chapter 14_**

 **Lapis P.O.V**

I paced in my small dorm room as I worried about tonight's open mic nite. I clenched my hands and became dangerously close to hyperventilating as I tried to go over the lyrics to the song I had wrote. My hands began to play through the chord progression on a phantom guitar as I sang my own words to myself.

I decided that it would be a good idea to go over the song one last time before I had to get ready. I took my acoustic out of its case carefully, sitting down and setting it across my knees.

Taking a deep breath, I felt my anxiety slowly start to fade as I sang and played. Something about it just seemed so freeing. My voice echoed through the small room, bouncing off the walls and resonating back through the guitar. Then I started the second verse.

The more I sang, the more I felt my muscles loosen and my heart beat slow. The third verse began to pour out into the room, much more natural and easy than the first two. As the last two lines flowed in, I dropped my voice to a gentle whisper.

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

Placing my guitar back in the comfort of its case, I grabbed some of my nicer clothes and headed for the showers.

I let all the hot water relax all of the built up tension in my shoulders, I rolled them into the steaming water. I knew that tonight was going to be rough on my anxiety because I had never played in front of giant crowds. And the hardest part, the song was an original.

The huge knot in my stomach did nothing to calm me down as I wrapped myself in a towel and began tugging on my underwear and my classic denim skinny jeans. It was a bit of a challenge as I didn't do much to dry myself off, but I managed. Next was a shirt, I'd grabbed a nice simple button up. I wasn't quite sure what I was expected to wear, but I wasn't willing to change at that point. After I was all washed up and dressed, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking to find something to be negative about. I there were too many things to count.

I hated the size of my eyes. They have always been way too big for my face, even more so when I was younger. Even time after time again when people have told me the would kill to have eyes like mine, I never believed them. Closing them tightly, I stuck a hand in my makeup bag fishing out my foundation.

Holding the strap of my guitar by my hand, I took a deep breath before entering the doors to the cafe. It was mostly empty save for a few other artists setting up their instruments and warming their voices. Taking a seat, I removed the crumpled up song lyrics and began to revise them. I fretted at how the other performers will probably not play originals.

Then it was announced that I would be performing third to last.

Before I knew it, there were a few acts until I was on.

 **A/N :** G here, with the double chapter upload as promised!

There's not much to say other than, leave us stuff! We _love_ hearing from you:)

So without further ado,

Happy Reading!

-G


	17. Chapter 15

**_Chapter 15_**

 **Lapis P.O.V**

I shook my head as I was called to the mic. I adjusted the strap of my guitar, something I noticed that was a nervous habit of mine. Crossing the makeshift stage, I took a seat at the stool, balancing the guitar on my knees and preparing for the song.

"Uh… I'll be singing an original song. So yeah… It's called 'Better'." After my quick speech I started strumming the intro and I felt more confidence in the song.

 _We're all evil if you think about it_

 _We all have demons, we don't speak about it_

 _Keep the shadowed parts in the dark_

 _But the shadows leave the darkest mark_

All was going well, I had so many friendly faces around me. Whenever the nerves came back I'd take one look at them and be calm again. Steven and Greg Universe's supportive and proud expressions were fueling my confidence.

 _I'm tired of staying quiet, making no sound_

 _There's no use lying about it when you're ten feet underground_

 _I'm not afraid to show what's underneath_

 _Because it's salvation that I seek_

I'd already met eyes with Greg and Steven, but someone was missing… She was missing.

 _Just hold on_

 _Say it twice_

 _Once for them and once for advice_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

Why? _Why?_ Out of all the times she could've not been there. _Why now?_

 _You're not alone_

 _Not anymore_

 _For others have gone through that door_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

 **What am I doing?** I'm missing lines and adding new ones, _I can't even focus on my strumming anymore._ _ **She's not here.**_

 _This was not the chorus I had written_ , _**What the hell was I doing?**_ My hands just kept strumming to help the shaking, _my finger moving to chords I hadn't planned._ But then, **I saw** _ **HER.**_

 _Today will be better than yesterday, better than yesterday, we'll be better than yesterday_

 _Today will be better than yesterday, better than yesterday, we'll be better than yesterday_

I saw Peridot peek out from behind a tall figure. My breath caught on a note as I realised that Yellow Diamond herself was watching my performance. _But why?_

I got off that stage as soon as I could, I practically ran. Grabbing my fabric case off the floor as I went I bolted out the doors and sprinted down the sidewalks.

I lost track of where I was running and soon enough, I didn't recognize any of the things around me. Buildings became unfamiliar, street lights shined down on the dark pavement, I was lost. In more way than one, funny enough. I just needed _her_ to get out of my mind and stop spoiling my good thoughts.

After thinking I had knocked her down, she was getting up for round two.

 _ **Malachite...**_

 **A/N :** G here! I hope everyone understands the concept of Malachite in this fic, as it's kind of confusing -_-'

If you have any questions about that, or anything else, please let us know... That said...

Happy Reading!


	18. Chapter 16

**_Chapter 16_**

 **Peridot p.O.V**

"Remember to be on your best behavior. We cannot afford to tarnish our standing with the Fryman family. Do you understand, Peridot?" I hadn't even realised what she said until my name had been used. I snapped my head away from her, this was the last place I wanted to be at the moment.

"Ronaldo is a freak." I scoffed, the fancy lights of the bistro blinding me.

"Young lady!" Yellow Diamond bellowed. "You will treat him with respect and you are under no circumstances to leave as soon as I drop you off. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal." I obliged, albeit slightly sarcastically. Leaving the car, I slammed the door hard enough to make my point.

I was furious at the fact that I was being forced on this date. But, what other options did I have? It was either this or coming out to my mother and honestly, the former felt much more comfortable. I sighed as I straightened out Lapis' blouse that had now turned over into my possession. It was a way of keeping a part of her close to me.

Pushing open the double doors, I greeted the hostess with a fake smile as I explained the situation. She brought me right to the table that contained the person I least wanted to see at this moment.

"Peri!" he exclaimed. "I've been expecting you!"

"Peridot, to you." I hissed, slamming my bag on the floor.

" _Hime-sama,_ might I say you look lovely tonight." he flushed, clasping his hands and placing them underneath his chin.

"I am _not_ your princess." I was already someone else's princess and it was a shame I didn't have the confidence to tell her.

"Anyways." he coughed awkwardly trying to clear the air. "Do you want to hear my latest discovery on the _polymorphic sentient rocks_ and how they're here to hollow out the earth?!"

"Amuse me." I chuckled, leaning back in my chair and taking on a position that my mother would describe as 'Very unladylike.'

"Well…" he began. "I have reason to believe that this planet holds some aliens known as Gems." he added, gesturing wildly.

"They have something called a Gemstone at the centre of their being. I have proof that all gems are under the control of their evil overlords… THE DIAMONDS!"

"And that's why they made the cluster!" he continued, never stopping to take a breath.

"Mmhm." I sighed, wondering why he was putting all his energy into something so false. I jumped as a waiter approached our table.

"Sorry, but you need to exit the premises." he turned to scan the room behind us, turning back around when he had finished making his point.

"You are causing a disruption."

"Whatever, let's go." I scoffed, grabbing my bag and heading for the door as we hadn't even had the chance to eat anything. Guess I would have to save my next meal for breakfast tomorrow morning.

"Hello mother. I need you to send a car to come get me." I stated, my tone wavering slight as I spoke in fear of her reaction.

"How did the date go?" She inquired, with a flat voice.

"It was fine. It just ended a little earlier than expected."

"If I call Mr. Fryman tonight and hear it went abysmal, you aren't leaving the house for two weeks." I sighed as the line went dead. I hoped with everything I had that Lapis would finally answer with almost three week of no communication. My finger hovered over the call button.

It rang once, my stomach became a knot. Twice, my heart began to race. Three times, my palms were sweating. And voicemail, my heart sank to my stomach. She wasn't just ignoring me, she was actively avoiding me at all costs.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I tried to sooth my fractured heart. I couldn't find the point where I had gone wrong. Did she really not feel anything towards me? I wasn't sure anymore…


	19. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17**_

 **Lapis P.O.V.**

As I turned to face the crowd, they exploded in cheers. They threw their flags into the air, others jumped up to scream. My team chanting my name. I held my gloved hands up to the air and chanted with them.

I let the adrenaline slowly run out of my veins as I came to realise what had happened. Malachite had been defeated by the underdog, by me. In a surprising turn of events, I had found an opening and gave her a nice clean uppercut to her jawline.

As I had my back turned to what I thought was her unconscious body, I held my breath for the countdown.

"10." This was impossible...

"9." There was _no way_...

"8." _But maybe?..._

"7." Had **I** done it?...

"6." _No..._

"5." **Halfway…** _How could this be?..._

"4." _I think I did it..._

"3." _**It was finally over...**_

"2." _**NO.**_

It was Malachite… she was struggling. She was getting her hands underneath her, she pushed up to her feet and that's when I felt my blood run cold. The audience cried to me as her shadow swallowed me. I thought I had gotten her, but she was up and ready for round two.

As the ref called it, the all too familiar ring of the bell rung through my ears. I had realised something... I hadn't beaten her, I had only slowed her down.

Dodging punch after punch, jab and hook, I knew this was going to be the end of me. Right there, in that ring.

This was the only way I could think about it. I coped by imagining a situation, it was the only way I could understand. After the Open Mic Nite this what happened, she came back.

 **Peridot P.O.V.**

Standing in front of my bathroom mirror, I began tugging the ribbons attached to the bottom of my french braids. I remember the woman my mother had hired to do my hair, and she had weaved them unbearably tight. As I eyed them in my reflection, my lips curved into a smile and I made a snap decision.

Making my way downstairs and reassuring myself that everyone had gone to sleep, I used a spare bobby pin to pick the locks on the kitchen drawers. At a young age, this was a skill I had picked up. It wasn't unusual that I snuck food in the middle of the nights.

Fishing out the kitchen scissors, I bolted back up the stairs, not only locking the door to my suite, but to my bathroom as well. I leaned on the counter, taking deep breaths to make sure that this was what I really wanted to do.

Securing the blades around the place where one of my braids came in contact with my waist, I clenched my eyes shut and gave several clean pumps on the handles, feeling satisfaction as locks of blonde fell to the floor.

Once I began, I couldn't stop. Two inches became four, four became twelve and before I knew it, my hair was at a length to barely brush my shoulders. Placing the scissors down on the counter, I undid the remaining pieces of braid and took a large step back away from the mirror.

Ends were rugged and uneven, hair was scattered over almost every surface in the bathroom, I certainly was no hairstylist.

The gravity of my actions began to sink in as I ripped down my alien print shorts and panties, followed by my black singlet. Crossing the room, I started up the shower. First things first, I needed to get the hair off of myself.

Feeling the water drench my body, it felt relieving as the entire process of shampooing and conditioning went by in a breeze. Once wrapped in a towel, I sidestepping several clumps of hair and headed to retrieve the broom.

With counters clean, and hair almost dried from the effort, I realised how awful of a job I had done. I reached to grab my phone out of the pocket of my fresh pyjama pants. Hitting Lapis' contact, I held my breath as it rang.

"What."

"I fucked up."

 **A/N :** Drama, drama, drama! Hope you all enjoyed this Wednesday upload:)

As always, feel free to contact Gwen and I with any comments questions or concerns! Our PMs are always open (3)~3

Happy Reading!

\- G


	20. CONFIDENTIAL FILE 3

FILE #4G7K-3YP

[PICTURE ATTACHED] LEGAL NAME: JAYDEN MAKAHA ASSIGNED NAME: JASPER SEX: F WARD: 5 **[MOVED TO WARD 6]**

* * *

DIAGNOSIS: BIPOLAR DISORDER, CHRONIC ANGER

OTHER INCLINATIONS: None **[HYSTERICAL STRENGTH]**

DESCRIPTION:

Makaha is an aggressive individual who will not be hesitant to attack and harm facility members and other patients. Facility members are advised to use extreme caution when approaching Makaha.

 **[JASPER DOES NOT LEAVE HER VICTIMS ALIVE. DO NOT ENGAGE. I REPEAT, DO NOT ENGAGE.]**

 _ **19, 1, 22, 5/ 21, 19**_


	21. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

 ****

 **Peridot P.O.V.**

"I fucked up."

"What?"

"I can't explain right now, but can I come over?"

"Uh, fine…"

Rummaging through my chest of drawers I settled on shoving my mop of uneven blonde hair into a beanie. Throwing a coat over my pyjamas, I grabbed my keys and ran for my car.

The drive to Lapis' dorm was uneventful as I navigated the empty streets. Drowning out my thoughts as much as I possibly could, I blasted Twenty One Pilots' newest album as loud as I could take it.

Belting out the chorus of Polarize as I stopped at red light, I tapped my fingers on the wheel nervously, my favourite song doing nothing to calm me down. As soon as the light changed, I didn't ease into the accelerator, instead thrusting it down quite quickly. I wasn't thinking straight, and at this rate, I was probably going to seriously injure myself or someone close to me.

Another turn and I was in the dorm parking lot. Grabbing my bag to check my phone, I frowned at the fact that it was almost midnight. Swinging it over my shoulder and slamming the door behind me, I headed for the double doors.

"Peri, what the _fuck_ is going on?" Lapis questioned as she noticed a certain article of clothing covering up one of my more distinct features. Sitting down on her bed, I ripped off the beanie, shaking out my hair which now only fell to my shoulders.

"Holy shit, Peridot!" she exclaimed, running her fingers through a chunk of it.

"I did an abysmal job."

"It's okay, I'll fix it." she crossed her room to retrieve a pair of haircutting scissors, two towels, a spray bottle and a comb. Gesturing to a chair, she set the towel over my shoulders.

"You know how to cut hair?"

"Well… yeah. I had pretty neglectful parents. You tend to learn a thing or two about a thing or two."

Spraying my hair damp, she roughly combed it out straight and got to work. It was a hard battle between Lapis and my curls, she seemed to struggle working the scissors during the process. In the end Lapis emerged victorious, using the second towel to ruffle through it, getting most of the water out.

Taking a step back, I held my breath as she examined her work. Bringing a hand to her mouth, she held in giggles.

"What?" I asked, scowling. It only made her laugh harder.

"Oh my god Peri. Your hair-"

"What about it?!" I shrieked, demanding her answer. I had become irritable from the lack of sleep. The alarm clock beside her bed displayed that it was now one thirty in the morning.

"It looks like a triangle…" she clutched her stomach as she wheezed, finally getting some air to hand me my phone. As I opened up the front facing camera, I inspected what she had done. Sure enough, she was right.

On any other hair texture, the cut would have looked normal, but on my never ending curls, it had puffed out what would have been a chin length bob into a tetrahedron. My scowl deepened.

"It will be fine if you straighten it." Lapis explained. "If you find the time to do it before you leave the house."

There was no denying the fact that I would undoubtedly get lazy. I assumed that beanies were going to play a big role in my life for the next while.

"I wanted to make sure you were fine. It seemed quite difficult for you to hold the scissors." I began, carefully taking the towel from my shoulders to ball it up.

"Yeah, just fine..." she lied through her teeth, throwing the balled up towel in the hamper. If she wasn't ready to talk, then I guess I would.

"My childhood was difficult." I stated, trying to make my breathing steady. "Despite what everyone likes to think."

"Mmmh… Yeah..."

"Ever since I was born, my legacy had already been laid out before me. The company would go to Emerald, I would eventually marry a rich businessman and benefit his family. It was all planned out. But, I didn't _like it_.

So, I began to rebel. When my mother would dedicate hours to making me get measured and trying on dresses, I would sneak extra time on my computer instead. Long nights after banquets where I would be shown off to businessmen with eligible sons were spent slaving away over Python.

I find it really quite ironic. All teenage girls nowadays want to hear that they're gorgeous or _hot_. Since I had been called all sorts of variations on that all throughout my life, the thing I wanted to be known for was changing the world by being intelligent.

Designing new inventions that would reinvent the way things are done technologically. Inventing, discovering-"

"That's why… Amethyst-" I cut off her gasp with a quick hum.

"But, the way I was treated… like I was a human doll. It made me despise myself and-" at this point tears were streaming down my face as I tried to hold back sobs and shivers.

" _Is being pretty all I'm good for?! Do I really have nothing else?!"_

"I, uh… Dammit." Lapis had failed to conceal that tears that were making their way onto her cheeks. Using one bare arm, she wiped them… and that's when I saw _them_.

"Oh, I... Uh… um… _shit._ " she crossed her arms under her chest in a weak attempt to hide what I had already seen.

"No… no it's okay." I waved as I tried to reassure her. Patting the spot beside me, she slowly obliged. I tugged down one side of my waist band, just enough to reveal a part of my upper thigh. "I got em' too."

"My God… Not you too..." Lapis whimpered taking more defeat in my scars than hers.

"I'm okay… I'm okay now." I wrapped my arms around her small form. "They've longed since healed."

I held her as we both sobbed. But it was fine, we could suffer together.

 **Lapis P.O.V**

But, little did I know, there was a spark of hope still left, one single thing keeping me tied down. In the audience, a little blonde I knew all too well stumbled to her feet and took her metal chair with her. Dragging it behind her, she walked the aisle towards ring, thinking this whole scenario was " _absurd"_ and " _unjust"_.

With an upset look on her face, she was ready to save me… she was prepared to **strike**.

 **A/N:** It's Monday! Meaning another upload of SPASA:)

As always feel free to tell us your questions, comments and concerns, and of course PM's are open!

Happy Reading! :)

\- G


	22. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19**_

 **? P.O.V**

We had to admit she was amazingly talented. The way she worked the guitar was unlike anything we'd seen because she'd come so far in such a short time. As we sat down in the cafe, we watched her make her way to the stool, perching herself nervously.

"Uh...Hi, my name is Lapis Lazuli and I'll be singing an original song. So yeah… It's called 'Better'." I turned to my employer as she began the intro to her song.

"What do we think of her?"

"Hmm, young, that's definitely working in her favour. Quite talented." he rubbed at his chin as he observed.

"Her voice is splendid."

"She's in." he settled.

"That was quite a fast decision, Sir." I remarked hesitantly before being cut off.

"Do anything you can to get her on board. I want her."

 **Peridot P.O.V**

As the sun's rays shined through a crack in the blinds, they hit my face, making my eyes flutter open. I tried desperately to retrieve the memories of last night. My body felt weak, my eyes felt dry from crying and… why was I so warm?

I looked down to see arms wrapping around me and pinning me to whatever was causing the heat… then my heart raced. I was curled up against Lapis Lazuli on a simple beanbag, both of us covered by her navy duvet.

Trying to keep my breathing steady, I pulled at the bottom hem of my black singlet, fidgeting nervously and placing my arms on top of hers afterwards. I wished I could stay like this for all of time.

I reveled in the sensation of her chest rising and falling against my back. I couldn't see her expression, but I hoped it was peaceful. Scanning the details of her room, I noticed just how _blue_ everything was. From the curtains to her dyed hair. Everything was _blue_.

As she began groaning, I knew that she was waking up. My voice hoarse from a full night's sleep, I greeted her.

"Hey."

"Mmm." was all she responded with as she took one of her arms to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

"What time s'it?"

"Um," I struggled to reach over to look at the alarm clock. Realising what time it was, I almost fell onto the floor in surprise. "Almost noon."

" _Shit_." she whispered, getting out of the bed and to her feet. "Wait, I don't have classes today. Do I?"

"It's Saturday, you _Clod_." then I realised there was something I still didn't know. "And what are you studying anyways?"

"Law. Hate it with all my guts." She groaned drowsily, laying down once again at my side.

"Then, why are you studying it?"

"Cause', it'll give me money in the future." I understood her reasoning, money and riches seemed to hold every problem in this day and age. Not to mention, the family I was raised in gave me all the more ways to comprehend her dilemma.

"But still, sending me to school was one of the only things my parents did for me."

"Could you possibly explain further?" I inquired, trying to sort through the many meanings of her statement.

"Uh… Umm, not right now… I have to practice." She spoke with a stutter, directing my gaze to her acoustic guitar. "Care to join me, Peri?"

"Yes, of course..." I then scurried over to her undressed bed, waiting for her figure to loom beside me. When Lapis was properly set, she began. I became entranced in the familiar state of awe I normally felt when being in the presence of Lapis' playing. I could feel the freedom and joy radiating off of her presence swarm me, resurfacing good memories. _Until she stopped..._

" _Aie! Aw shit. Fuck… Not again._ " She yelped, looking down. Once I followed her gaze, I saw her source of pain. Not the wounds on her arms, but her _hands._ The tips of her fingers were raw and bleeding from the freshly opened scabs and the joints in her fingers were swollen. Her cuticles were ripped and teared from strumming the metal strings and there were several broken pics on her nightstand.

 _I had failed. Again._ I failed to notice signs and warnings. I was _naive._ It made no sense to dwell on the past, but in that instance all I could do was regret. I was finished crying, so instead I spoke.

"It might be wise to tape them up." I stated, gesturing to her hands.

"No point, I'll open them up again tomorrow." She explained, brushing me off.

"You know your health matters a lot to me, Lazuli?" I said with a surprising amount of concern in my tone.

"It's my health or my career, Peridot." she scoffed. Distraught that the only person who had ever wanted to be my friend decided to snap at me, I pulled my knees up to my chest and placed my forehead on them. I felt unbelievably small.

"I was just… I-"

"Yeah… Looking out for me, sure."

"I'm... I'll just-" I headed for the door. As I neared the door frame I heard a faint buzz before Lapis hollered.

"Holy Fuck."

"Do you want me to…" I asked sheepishly, pointing towards the exit behind me.

"I-I don't know? This fucking unknown number keeps spamming me and I'm pissed!"

"Well have you attempted to see what they want?"

"Well.. No. I've been busy!" when she saw me flinch, she lowered her voice several decibels.

"Uh… Let's answer it together, how about it?"

"Sure." I agreed, sitting next to her again. Hitting the call button, she put the phone on speaker and waited.

" _Hello am I speaking to Miss Lapis Lazuli?"_ a female voice chimed on the other end of the phone.

"Uh, yes."

" _This is Madeline from Crystal Records. We're holding a music competition for the tri-city area and we'd like to offer you a spot._ "

"Oh my god."

" _The rule is: The song you perform must be an original, composition and lyrics."_

"Okay."

" _The winner is granted a stadium for a concert in Empire City, all expenses covered."_

"I accept."

I watched in awe as Lapis wrote down the details on a piece of notepaper. The date, the venue, the time. She was finally getting a foot in the door to her dream. But, where was I?

" _Thank you. Have a nice day_." the call was terminated. I got up to leave when I was stopped by a firm hug from behind. Lapis buried her face in my hair and it took everything I had to not become a puddle on the floor.

"I'm really sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was just in a lot of pain. Thanks for looking out for me, it really means a lot." she whispered, her breath tickling my scalp.

"I forgive you."

"You're staying right here. We need to celebrate this!" she took my keys out of my pyjama pocket, dangling them in front of my face. "Who has a cool car now?"

"Still me?"

"We're getting donuts."

 **A/N:** How Adorable! And, we'll finally get some more characters introduced;)

I totally forgot to upload the second chapter on Monday so i'll be putting up three today!

As always hit us with your questions, comments, concerns and PMs are always open at G2.

Happy Reading!

-G


	23. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_ __

 **Lapis P.O.V**

"You should let me drive, yeah?" I suggested. Honestly, I had wanted to try out her Tesla since I had laid eyes on it.

"Um, sure."

"Fuck yeah!" Running out into the parking lot, I knew I had to be nice to what was essentially Peridot's child. Clicking the button to unlock the doors, I settled into the driver's seat. Peridot eyed me cautiously as I thrusted the key into the ignition and roared the engine to life. I loved the smoothness due to the fact that it was electric.

"Oh my God, I must've died and gone to heaven… I'm in the driver's seat of a _Fucking_ _ **Tesla**_ _!_ "

"Stars Lazuli, if you had wanted to drive it this much you should have told me earlier."

"You don't even know, Peri!" I giggled like a madman as I sped around a corner, heading towards downtown Beach City.

"Here we go!" shouting incoherently, she clutched onto my free hand in fright.

"The Big… Donut?" she asked nervously, turning to meet my eyes.

"One of my good friends Sadie works here." I explained, pushing open the double doors.

"That makes sense."

As my eyes scanned the shop, I was surprised to see Sadie's coworker in her place. Lars sat slumped back in his chair, arms crossed and eyes almost closed. I sighed internally, I was sincerely hoping I wouldn't have to deal with this today. I waltzed up to the counter and slammed my hand down on the bell, _hard_.

"Shit, man!" he exclaimed, falling out of the chair. As he stood up and realised who I was, he attempted to flatten his hair. Peridot stood frozen in place as she shifted her gaze between Lars and I several times.

"What can I getcha', Lapis?" Lars purred as he leaned on the counter and flashed me a sly smirk.

"I'm here for the donuts, not for you, Lars"

"Psh, yeah, yeah, that's what they all say..."

"Don't flatter yourself, I came here for a different kind of ' _D'._ " I spat, pointing at the glass display that held the pastries. I heard Peridot muffling snickers from behind me.

"Fine! You're not the only girl around here, you know!" He pouted, crossing his arms, "And, plus, you're probably gay or some shit."

"Thanks for noticing. I did forget to wear my rainbow today though."

"Just take your donuts and leave already, I wanna clock out before Sadie gets here..."

"Way ahead of you." I hissed, grabbing the bag off the counter and held Peridot by the hand to drag her off as we happily left the Big Donut.

"Is it cool if we eat them in your car?" I asked hesitantly as my hand hovered over the handle to the door.

"Sure. It would be a new experience on both parts."

"Dude… You've been missing out. Donuts are the best." I said while hopping back in the driver's seat. "So… Back to mine?"

"Honestly, I didn't tell my mom where I was going. So I have two options right now. Either I go and get in a bunch of trouble or go back to your dormitory and postpone getting in even more trouble."

"Pick your Poison, Pear. Discipline or donuts..."

"Donuts, then discipline." She responded, hugging the bag of treats

"How bad is " _Mother Dearest"_ when she's angry?" Peridot sighed before trying to spit out some sort of witty response, she gave up.

"Terrifying."

"My door's always open, ya know?.."

"Thanks."

"But like really, I never lock it..."

"That's totally not a security risk, Lazuli."

"Anyways, it's donut time..."

Passing me the bag, I opened it up and passed her the glazed one. As she bit into it, I swore I could have seen her pupils turn into stars. She proceeded to choke it down like it was the first thing she had eaten in weeks. When she had finished, she extended her arms and made grabby hands.

Who wouldda' thought I'd end up in a Tesla feeding Yellow Diamond's daughter donuts for the first time in her life. Not me...

"Well then… Here I guess." I handed her another, after another, it went on and on. Eventually I cut her off.

"Clod." She complained her cheeks full of sweet treats.

"You're going to make yourself sick."

"It wasn't my fault I wasn't allowed to eat anything normal! It's always gourmet food for every meal!"

"Have not had any comfort food ever? Mac and cheese and chicken noodle soup are my favourites!"

"I've only ever dreamed of eating those things, Lazuli."

"Well, let's change that..."

 **A/N :** Peri X Donuts is honestly the best ship tbh...

Anyways expect about one more upload today (maybe more;)), but that's all for now!

Happy reading!

-G


	24. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21**_

 **Peridot P.O.V**

I pulled into the all too familiar parking lot of the college as I waved down Lapis.

"Hey." she greeted as she hopped into the passenger's seat, I noticed the very large backpack she was carrying.

"Why do you have that?" I asked as she carefully placed it in the backseat. "Oh, no reason. On a completely unrelated note, you wouldn't happen to have any milk at the mansion, would you?"

"I honestly have no idea. I stopped sneaking late night snacks after my mom started to get suspicious and told the staff."

"Hmm… okay. If you don't have any, we might have to stop. Speaking of Yellow Diamond, where is she right now anyways?"

"Her and my sister, Emerald have flown to New York City for a few days for business. I love getting the mansion to myself. I'm under no pressure from anyone."

"Makes sense."

"Hey can I see what you listen to?" she requested, tapping on the music section of the touch screen in my car.

"Knock yourself out." Going into the folders connected to my phone she chucked at an album she knew all too well.

"Blurryface?" she asked, her tone being consumed by surprise. "You never struck me as an alternative gal."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Lazuli."

"What's your favorite song on here?" she asked, her fingers hovering over the song titles.

"Polarize." I stated as I eased the breaks at a red light. "But I also really like Lane Boy, Hometown and… actually, it would be safe to say I adore every song on the album."

"Same here, but I really really like We Don't Believe What's on TV." she agreed, deciding to put on one of the songs I hadn't mentioned.

I laughed and eased on the accelerator as an all too familiar Korean greeting rang through the speakers. After Lapis air pianoed the first sixteen notes, we both broke into song.

As the second verse came in, Lapis turned to me and made goofy expressions as she sang "But my taste in music is your face!" which caused both of us to erupt into laughter.

After impressing her by rapping the first verse of Lane Boy flawlessly, we were now nearing my road of a driveway.

"Damn Peri." was all she had to say.

"When you listen to a song enough times you pick up a few things." I explained, pressing a button on the sun shield which prompted one of the garage doors to open.

"Too true." she responded, mesmerized by the sights around her.

"Your house is _Fucking huge_!" she exclaimed, unclicking her seatbelt and hopping out of the car once it was safely parked in the garage. "I mean I knew it was going to be big, but… wow."

"C'mon." I waved her over as I stood in front of my two options. "Okay, we can either cut across the outdoor foyer that leads directly to my suite, or we can go in through the laundry room so I can give you the tour."

"Tour! Tour!" Lapis began chanting, there was no way I could deny her request.

"Should we be rebels and play around in my mom's bathroom? Honestly, I take baths in her on suite bathroom all the time when she isn't here." I confessed.

"Totally." she agreed, as I led her in through the laundry room.

"Okay, laundry room, very interesting, let's continue." opening another door, it led us right into the kitchen.

"I have a feeling there might be some things you have to drop off here." she crossed the kitchen, placing her bag on the island as she took item after item out.

"Okay, you do have milk. Good." she whispered, mostly to herself as she placed her perishables in the fridge.

"So, in here is the dining room. The table seats eight so we only eat in here for dinner." Lapis walked the circumference of the table, exiting through the door we came. I had already shown her the breakfast nook and family room on the other side of the kitchen.

"And the living room." I explained as I pushed open the glass double doors we often kept closed that connected the dining room and the living room.

"Woah, that is a _nice_ grand piano. Who plays?" she asked, lifting up the cover and sitting in the seat.

"My sister." I lied. I wasn't quite ready to give her a personal concert.

"C'mon, you need to see the foyer." I persuaded, as she left the seat and and followed me.

After I had finished giving her the tour, we had entered the kitchen once more so she could start on her project.

"What do you have planned?" I asked sheepishly, hopping up on the counter beside the stove as she pulled out her various ingredients again.

"Oh you'll see." she said vaguely as she searched cupboards. "Pots?"

Half an hour later, she placed a hot bowl of macaroni and cheese with homemade sauce in front of me. I could feel my mouth watering. Holding the fork, I dived in. As soon as I placed the first bite in my mouth, I decided that right up there with donuts, macaroni and cheese was one of my favourite foods.

"Hey Lazuli?" I asked between bites.

"Mmm?" she responded, turning around to face me, but keeping both hands in the soapy sink.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to record some songs for Illusions' soundtrack."

"Of course, Peri. I'd be happy to."

 **A/N:** Here's the final(;)) chapter for today!

Also, I may or may not be able to upload on Friday because I'm not totally sure if i'll have my laptop and/or internet. But! I will try my best to get it up or find a solution to get the chapters to you all:)

Happy reading!

-G


	25. Chapter 22

_****__**Chapter 22**_

 **Lapis P.O.V**

It was finally time. I finally had my foot in the door and I couldn't mess this up. I was praying to every god there was that this would go smoothly. I had reread my song over and over again. I had practiced and practiced until my fingers were raw and bleeding again. I was not going down without a fair fight, not this time.

My eyes scanned the small crowd in the seats around me looking at other contestants. I was happy to check out the competition while I could. There were some electric guitar players, pianist and I even saw someone with a ukulele. I was an acoustic player but l surely wasn't the only one.

As everyone lined up and got their numbers, I felt all the tenseness I had been feeling throughout the entire morning kick into overdrive. I had to breathe and remind myself that I was anything but alone. I had Greg, I had Steven. I had _Peridot_. They would be with me through what ever came my way.

After a while of waiting in line, I was given my number, contestant 23. I taped the piece of paper to my chest and waited.

 **Peridot P.O.V**

It was finally time. The moment that would define the beginning of Lapis' career.

In the 1:50 chance that she would win, she would be awarded a concert in front of thousands of people looking for fresh musical blood and potentially a deal with a record label. If she failed, I had no doubt that she would scramble back to her feet and bounce back. She wouldn't give up on her dreams, would she?

As I began the drive towards downtown Beach City, I tried to remain calm myself. I could only imagine how Lapis was feeling.

Stopping at a red light, I pushed the button on my touch screen, bringing the speakers to life. The music did nothing to sooth my nerves as I tried to keep my attention on driving safely.

One more corner and the arena came into view, I needed to get in and get to her before she went on. She needed to know that it was going to be okay and that I wouldn't be disappointed in her if she didn't win. But for some reason, the only place I wanted to be was in her arms. Why?

Realising I had forgotten something of great importance, I made a sharp left hand turn at the next intersection and headed for the Big Donut. I needed to get some donuts for afterwards.

Letting out a sigh of relief at the fact that the same young man wasn't working today, I approached the short and stout blonde at the counter. At the sight of me, she flashed a knowing smile.

"Heya! Welcome to the Big Donut." She leaned her forearms on the counter as I checked out what they had.

"Hi." I smiled as I met her gaze.

"You're Lapis' friend, right?" It was between the ordinary glazed and the chocolate glazed. Why not get both?

"How do you know Lapis?"

"I'm in her class in college."

"I'm Sadie by the way."

"Peridot."

 **Lapis P.O.V**

"23, please make your way to the stage."

In a sorry attempt to slow my breathing, I tried to stop thinking.

'Holy shit, you're next.' was all I could think in that moment and it repeated like a broken record. Picking my guitar up by the neck, I placed the strap around myself and let my arms fall. The young teen on stage before me looked about fourteen and she sat in front of a piano.

The song that began coming out of the instrument was sweet and innocent, just like the girl on stage. It was crazy to me that this girl, eight years younger than me, was able to play an instrument so wonderfully. I thought that without a doubt that she was going to beat me.

As her song went on, I felt more and more nervous. Fear sat in my stomach as the last of the chords rang through the air. As she left the stage, my heart kicked into gear.

"Contestant 23, please make your way to the stage." with shaky knees, I climbed the steps to the stage, trying my best not to fall flat on my face. Just like I did at the cafe, I looked through the audience searching for all of the familiar faces. Indeed, they were all there. Steven, Greg, Peridot and, to my surprise, the sorority?

But there was no time to think, it was time to go...

"Hi my name is Lapis Lazuli and I'll be playing a song I wrote called _Better_." Taking a deep breath, I began the opening notes of the same song I had played in the cafe. This time, I was determined to get it right.

 _We're all evil if you think about it_

 _We all have demons, we don't speak about it_

 _We keep the shadowed parts in the dark_

 _But, the shadows leave the darkest mark_

 _I'm tired of staying, making no sound_

 _There's no use lying about it when you're ten feet underground_

 _I'm not afraid to show what's underneath_

 _Because it's salvation that I seek_

The more I played the song, the more nervous I felt. As I tried to make sure my hands didn't freeze, I made sure to keep my eyes straight forward, focusing on nothing. There was extra pressure playing my own work and I decided right there that performing original songs were much harder than ones written by someone else.

 _Just hold on_

 _And say it twice_

 _Once for them and once for advice_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

 _You're not alone_

 _Not anymore_

 _For others have gone through that door_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

Breaking out into the chorus, I started to smile. My mistake at the cafe sure shot me down but it made this song into what it is now. I decided to keep it as a reminder, to always remind myself that we all make mistakes.

 _Today will be better than yesterday, better than yesterday, we'll be better than yesterday_

 _Today will be better than yesterday, better than yesterday, we'll be better than yesterday_

I started to enjoy myself more and more as I played along. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sometimes a little stage fright was good from time to time.

 _If you wish to lie where your demons lie_

 _Why do you wish for something you can't decide_

 _You hope for your own insanity_

 _But it's not as great, you'll see_

 _Just hold on_

 _And say it twice_

 _Once for them and once for advice_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

 _You're not alone_

 _Not anymore_

 _For others have gone through that door_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

 _Today will be better than yesterday, better than yesterday, we'll be better than yesterday_

 _Today will be better than yesterday, better than yesterday, we'll be better than yesterday_

 _Take a step, take just one step back_

 _Look at your life and the side effects_

 _Is this one thing the only choice?_

 _For death to block out all the noise_

 _Just hold on_

 _And say it twice_

 _Once for them and once for advice_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

 _You're not alone_

 _Not anymore_

 _For others have gone through that door_

 _Today will be better than yesterday_

 _Today will be better than yesterday, better than yesterday, we'll be better than yesterday_

 _Today will be better than yesterday, better than yesterday, we'll be better than yesterday_

Holding the last note, everything turned into silence before the crowd broke out into applause. Steven, Greg, Peridot and the sorority hopped up to their feet. Almost all of them had tears streaming down their faces. Soon enough, the entire audience was on their feet and I had received a standing _fucking_ ovation. Panting from anxiety, I felt my knees go weak as black specks dotted my vision. This was too much. Seeing the overwhelmingly bright stage lights was the last thing I remembered before I fell onto the stage.

 **A/N** : Tadaa! G here, back with the Monday upload! These were originally two separate chapters but I couldn't help but merge them because of how short they were -_-

On another note, it seems that some of you were confused with the boxing match thing, so i'll briefly explain it!

Lapis, due to her past, deals a lot with mental illness (anxiety/depression/all that fun stuff). As a sort of coping mechanism, she sees her struggle with her mental illness as a boxing match (hens the random boxing scenes). In those scenes she fights against _Her,_ Malachite, a personified version of all her mental struggles. (I hope this makes more sense!)

Anyways as always we love hearing from you so tell us your questions comments and concerns (PMs always open!).

Happy Reading:)

\- G


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